LOST AND FOUND

LOST AND FOUND takes place in a laundromat in Brooklyn, New York during one of the largest blackouts in US history on August 14th, 2003. With no electricity coming back anytime soon, strangers LOST and FOUND stick together during this time of darkness and uncertainty. Both pass the time through drinking, games, and folding laundry which ultimately leads them to form a connection and reveal their own secrets and pasts, one they have more in common than they think.

LOST AND FOUND premiered as a staged reading in part of AMT Theater’s Summer Reading Series in June of 2023. We are set to premiere a workshop production at AMT Theater beginning of November 2024.

Goal of fundraising 

The goal of this campaign is to secure funds for artistic fees, the production team, set/props/lighting/costume design, theater rental fee, and marketing for a workshop production beginning of November 2024.

Director's Note, Christine Cirker

New works by new playwrights inspire me! Angelica Gorga has written a beautiful and sensitive piece about moving on through life’s challenges. We’ve already explored so much in her writing— through the reading last year at AMT. Please support our work as we take this new play to the next level. Spread the word and mark your calendars to come and see the growth of this play and the talented artists and above all, be inspired! Thank you for your support.

Playwright's Note, Angelica Gorga

I started writing LOST AND FOUND in college for a playwriting class in 2015. It was originally a few page play presented in class and later turned into a ten-minute play submitted and performed for a local theatre festival in 2016. After some time away from the piece I returned to it during the pandemic, and overtime it developed into the new play it is today.

During the pandemic, naturally, I couldn't help but think of the ways in which people come together in times of need, the experience of isolation, constant waves of grief, and dealing with the unknown. It made me think of all the other times New York City specifically has dealt with crisis and how New Yorkers and strangers from all around have come together to offer help and support. While grief was affecting me in its own way pre pandemic, I realized just how non linear and different it is for everyone. How isolating and heavy it can make someone feel, physically and mentally, and how it’s stored in the body and somewhat alters the mind. The need for human connection and help grew more than ever. All of this and more, I have poured into this play.

Even more so, I wanted to be in a world where cell phones and social media weren't central to human existence. I wanted to get away from that and return to a somewhat “simpler” time where people were more present with one another. While our phones seem to be the only thing keeping us all connected, I had this overwhelming desire to abandon the complete reliance of our phones and remove that element almost all together. This really inspired me to set the piece in 2003.

I believe there is much clarity and light in darkness because we have no choice but to look for it in order to get through, survive, and keep going. This blackout represents just that for both LOST and FOUND. We tell our stories, usually more parallel than we think, during times of need, through the darkness, to connect.

After experiencing this play, I want people feeling hopeful in humanity, recognized and seen for their own journey through grief and healing, and encouraged to make connections with strangers and not just in times of need. This play is a love letter to New York City, New Yorkers, and to those who show up for themselves and one another.

With the support of local theater organizations and audiences throughout the years with my play, I’m inspired and excited to share this new work with you!

Thank you for your support!

Actors featured in photos:

Angelica Gorga

Jomack Miranda

Photography by Alynna Tan